UVlA'o" 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Cliap. Copyright No,. 

Shel^Lftft 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



OF 



An Old-time Army Chaplain 



Quaint Thoughts 



of 



An Old-time Army Chaplain 



Being fifty selections from 
Good Thoughts for Bad Times' ' 

/by 
Thomas Fuller, D. D. 



Compiled and Arranged by 

Belle M. Brain 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston and Chicago 



^%p 



Copyright, r8g8, 
By United Society of Christian Endeavor 







Colonial Press : 
Electrotyped and PrintM 7?y 
C. H. Simonds 6° Co. 
Boston, U.S.A. 




% o 9C% 






TO THE BRAVE AND LOYAL 

^oltuers antJ bailors of '98, 

fighting in the cause of liberty and humanity, 

these Quaint Thoughts of an 

Old-time Army Chaplain 

are inscribed by 

the compiler 



The soldiers asked of John Baptist (Luke 3 : 14, etc.) : And what 
shall we do ? Every man ought (not curiously to inquire into the duty of 
others, but) to attend his own concernments. The Baptist returned: Do 
violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely ; and be content with your 
wages. 

Good counsel to the soldiers of this age. Do violence to no man, plun- 
der no man, accuse no man falsely. Make no men malignants by wrongful 
information, and be content with your wages. — Thomas Fuller. 



FOREWORD 



Thomas Fuller was a chaplain in the British 
army during the great civil war in England. Born 
in 1608, and dying in 1 661, he lived and wrote in 
stirring times. A wise and witty preacher of the 
gospel, a brave and courageous army chaplain, and 
a writer of acknowledged power, he left a record 
second to none among those who have entered the 
sacred calling. 

Coleridge said of him : " Next to Shakespeare, I 
am not certain whether Thomas Fuller, beyond all 
other writers, does not excite in me the sense and 
emulation of the marvellous. ... In all his nu- 
merous volumes on so many different subjects, it is 
scarcely too much to say that you will hardly find 
a page in which some one sentence out of every 
three does not deserve to be quoted by itself as a 
motto or as a maxim." 

Gathering his material while on his long and 
tedious marches with the army, he "wrote and 

9 



IO FOREWORD 

practised that he might eradicate error and implant 
the loftiest virtues in the heart of man." With so 
noble an end in view, it is no wonder that God 
so highly honored and so richly blessed his written 
words. 

During our Civil War, an edition of Fuller's 
" Good Thoughts for Bad Times " was issued, as 
being especially appropriate to the unhappy con- 
dition of the nation. This book has long been out 
of print ; it has seemed wise, therefore, to issue 
these selections from it, in the hope that the quaint 
thoughts and the homely expressions may produce 
an " arrest of thought in many minds, resulting in 
the good of souls and the glory of God. " 

Belle M. Brain. 
Springfield, Ohio, June 8, 1898. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 

OF 

AN OLD-TIME ARMY CHAPLAIN 



Lord, I do discover a fallacy, whereby I have To-day if ye 

will hear his 

long deceived myself. Which is this : I have desired voice, harden 

not your 

to begin my amendment from my birthday, or from hearts. 
the first day of the year, or from some eminent fes- 
tival, that so my repentance might bear some 
remarkable date. But when those days were come, 
I have adjourned my amendment to some other 
time. Thus, whilst I could not agree with myself 
when to start, I have almost lost the running of the 
race. I am resolved thus to befool myself no 
longer. I see no day equal to to-day ; the instant 
time is always the fittest time. . . . Grant, there- 
fore, that to-day I may hear thy voice. And if this 
day be obscure in the calendar, and remarkable in 
itself for nothing else, give me to make it mem- 
orable in my soul, thereupon, by thy assistance, 
beginning the reformation of my life. 



12 QUAINT THOUGHTS 



II. 

b e the 1 ac I10W Lord, often have I thought with myself, I will 
behold ti 5>w sm °ut this one sin more, and then I will repent of 
sa/vation 7 ° f it, an d of all the rest of my sins together. So fool- 
ish was I, and ignorant. As if I should be more 
able to pay my debts when I owe more : or as if I 
should say, I will wound my friend once again, and 
then I will lovingly shake hands with him ; but 
what if my friend will not shake hands with me ? 
... Grant, Lord, at this instant I may break off 
my badness : otherwise thou mayst justly make the 
last minute wherein I do sin on earth to be the last 
minute wherein I shall sin on earth, and the first 
wherein thou mightest make me suffer in another 
place. 

III. 

Remember Lord, when I am to travel, I never use to provide 

now thy Cre- 
ator in the myself till the very time; partly out of laziness, 

th^vii^yl loath t0 be trouDle(i till needs I must ; partly out of 
pride, as presuming all necessaries for my journey 
will wait upon me at the instant. . . . Grant, 
Lord, that my confessed improvidence in temporal, 
may make me suspect my providence in spiritual, 
matters. Solomon saith, Man goeth to his long 
home. Short preparation will not fit so long a jour- 
ney. O let me not put it off to the last, but let me 



come not. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS I 3 

so dispose of myself that, when I am to die, / may 
have nothing to do but to die. 

IV. 

Lord, I confess this morning I remembered my My voice 

shalt thou 

breakfast, but forgot my prayers. And, as I have hear in the 

' b . . morning, O 

returned no praise, so thou mightst justly have Lord ? in tl l e , 

r ° J J morning will 

afforded me no protection. Yet thou hast carefully J^jerraK 

kept me to the middle of this day, entrusted me ^tfiook up. 

with a new debt before I have paid the old score. 

It is now noon, too late for a morning, too soon for 

an evening, sacrifice. My corrupt heart prompts 

me to put off my prayers till night ; but I know it 

too well, or, rather, too ill, to trust it. I fear, if till 

night I defer them, at night I shall forget them. 

Be pleased, therefore, now to accept them. ... I 

promise hereafter, by thy assistance, to bring forth 

fruit in due season. See how I am ashamed the 

sun should shine on me, who now newly start in the 

race of my devotions, when he, like a giant, hath 

run more than half his course in the heavens. 



Shameful my sloth, that I have deferred my 
night prayer till I am in bed. This lying along is 
an improper posture for piety. Indeed, there is no 
contrivance of our body, but some good man in 



14 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

o come, let Scripture hath hanselled it with prayer. The pub- 

us worship x J x 

dowr^^Tetus ^ can standing, Job sitting, Hezekiah lying on his 
t k he e Lo b rd our ^ed, Elijah with his face between his legs. But of 
he a isour F ° r a U gestures give me St. Paul's : for this cause I 
bow my knees to the Father of my Lord Jesus 
Christ. Knees, when they may, then they must, 
be bended. ... I know, in case of necessity, God 
would graciously accept my devotion, bound down 
in a sick dressing ; but now, whilst I am in perfect 
health, it is inexcusable. . . . But may God pardon 
my idleness this once, I will not again offend in the 
same kind, by his grace hereafter. 



VI. 



Be not sloth- Lord, I discover an arrant laziness in my soul. 

ful. ' ■* 

For, when I am to read a chapter in the Bible, be- 
of e Ae y boo U k fore l be S in it: > l look where it; endeth. And if it 
aridr e ead 0rd ' endeth not on the same side, I cannot keep my 
hands from turning over the leaf, to measure the 
length thereof on the other side ; if it swells to many 
verses, I begin to grudge. Surely, my heart is not 
rightly affected. Were I truly hungry after heav- 
enly food, I would not complain of meat. Scourge, 
Lord, this laziness out of my soul ; make the reading 
of thy word not a penance, but a pleasure unto me ; 
teach me that as amongst many heaps of gold, all 
being equally pure, that is the best which is the 



QUAINT THOUGHTS I 5 

biggest, so I may esteem that chapter in thy word 
the best that is the longest. 



VII. 

X 

Lord, the motions of thy Holy Spirit were for- Grieve not 

the holy 

merly frequent in my heart ; but alas ! of late they Spirit of 
have been great strangers. It seems they did not 
like their last entertainment, they are so loath to 
come again. I fear they were grieved, that either I 
heard them not attentively, or believed them not 
faithfully, or practised them not conscionably. If 
they be pleased to come again, this is all I dare 
promise, that they do deserve, and I do desire, they 
should be well used. 

VIII. 

Lord, thy servants are now praying in the open thy 
church, and I am here staying at home, detained and i will fill 
by necessary occasions, such as are not of my seek- 
ing, but of thy sending ; my care could not prevent Blessed are 

they which 

them, my power could not remove them. Where- do hunger 

** and thirst 

fore, though I cannot go to church, there to sit after right- 

1 ° ° 7 eousness: 

down at table with the rest of thy guests, be f b e r n u e e ^ sha11 
pleased, Lord, to send me a dish of their meat 
hither, and feed my soul with holy thoughts. ... I 
fear too many at church have their bodies there and 
minds at home. Behold, in exchange, my body here 



1 6 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

and heart there. Though I cannot pray with them, 
I pray for them. Yea, this comforts me, I am with 
thy congregation, because I would be with it. 



IX. 

Be filled with Lord, my voice by nature is harsh and untun- 

the Spirit; J J 

speaking to able, and it is vain to lavish any art to better it. 

yourselves in J 

hymns 3 and Can m y sin g m § of psalms be pleasing to thy ears, 
Jongs"sing- which is unpleasant to my own? Yet, though I 
inf melody cannot chant with the nightingale, or chirp with 
to the Lord, the blackbird, I had rather chatter with the swal- 
low, yea, rather croak with the raven, than to be 
whoso offer- altogether silent. Hadst thou given me a better 

eth praise 

giorifieth voice, I would have praised thee with a better voice. 



me 



Now what my music wants in sweetness, let it have 
in sense, singing praises with understanding. Yea, 
Lord, create in me a new heart (therein to make 
melody ), and I will be contented with my old voice, 
until in thy due time, being admitted into the choir 
of heaven, I have another, more harmonious, 
bestowed upon me. 

X. 

Lord, I perceive my soul deeply guilty of envy. 
I had rather thy work were undone than done bet- 
ter by another than myself ; had rather that thine 
enemies were all alive than that I should kill but 



x 



QUAINT THOUGHTS \J 

my thousand, and others their ten thousands of in lowliness 

of mind, let 

them. . . . Dispossess me, Lord, of this bad spirit, e JgJ^5 t 5 ni 

and turn my envy into holy emulation. Let me ^f^* hem " 

labor to exceed them in pains who excel me in J^JJan 

parts ; and, knowing that my sword, in cutting down tfingsjjut 

sin, hath a duller edge, let me strike with greater also on the 

. things of 

force ; yea, make other men's gifts to be mine, by others. 
making me thankful to thee for them. . . . Let me 
feed and foster and nourish and cherish the graces 
in others, honoring their persons, praising their 
parts, and glorifying thy name, who hath given such 
gifts unto them. 

XL 

Lord, I find David making a syllogism, in mood Not unto us, 

& J & 1 O Lord, not 

and figure, two propositions he perfected. Ps. 66 : unto us, but 
1 8. If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord 25Jf give 
will not hear me. 

19. But verily God hath heard me, he hath at- 
tended to the voice of my prayer. 

Now I expected that David should have concluded 
thus : — 

Therefore I regard not wickedness in my heart. 
But far otherwise he concludes : — 

20. Blessed be God, who hath not turned away 
my prayer, nor his mercy from me. 

Thus David hath deceived, but not wronged me. 
I looked that he should have clapped the crown on 



1 8 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

his own, but he puts it on God's, head ; for I like 
David's better than Aristotle's syllogisms, that, 
whatsoever the premises be, I make God's glory the 
conclusion. 

XII. 

ifweconfess Lord, before I commit a sin, it seems to me so 

our sins, he 

and^ustto shallow, that I may wade through it dry-shod from 
ou^sh^and an y guiltiness ; but when I have committed it, it 
from e a5 S un" s often seems so deep that I cannot escape without 
ness. e ° us drowning. Thus I am always in the extremities : 
either my sins are so small that they need not my 
repentance, or so great that they cannot obtain thy 
pardon. Lend me, O Lord, a reed out of thy sanctu- 
ary, truly to measure the dimensions of my offences. 
But O, as thou revealest to me more of my misery, 
reveal also more of thy mercy. If my badness seem 
bigger than thy goodness, but one hair's breadth, 
but one moment, that is room and time enough for 
me to run to eternal despair. 

XIII. 

A sagamore, or petty king in Virginia, guessing 
the greatness of other kings by his own, sent a na- 
tive hither, who understood English; commanding 
him to score upon a long cane (given him of purpose 
to be his register) the number of Englishmen, that 
hereby his master might know the strength of our 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 1 9 

nation. Landing at Plymouth, a popular place, he Mine iniqui- 
ties . . . are 
had no leisure to eat, for notching up the men he m ° re th an 

° v the hairs of 

met. At Exeter the difficulty of his task was in- SJSIfore d : 
creased ; coming at last to London (that forest of feSeth a me 
people) he broke his cane in pieces, perceiving the oxordf to* 
impossibility of his employment. Some may con- 
ceive that they can reckon up the sins they commit 
in one day. Perchance they may make hard shifts to 
sum up their notorious ill deeds ; more difficult it is 
to score up their wicked words. But O how infinite 
are their idle thoughts ! High time, then, to leave 
off counting, and cry out with David, Who can tell 
how oft he ofiendeth ? Lord, cleanse me from my 
secret sins. 

XIV. 
Almost twenty years since I heard a profane jest, wash me 

thoroughly 

and still remember it. How many pious passages from mine 

J x x ° iniquity, and 

of far later date have I forgotten ! It seems my soul cleanse me 

° J trom my sin. 

is like a filthy pond, wherein fish die soon, and 
frogs live long. Lord, raze this profane jest out of 
my memory. Leave not a letter thereof behind, 
lest my corruption (an apt scholar) guess it out 
again ; and be pleased to write some pious medita- 
tion in the place thereof. And grant, Lord, for the 
time to come (because such bad guests are easier 
kept out), that I may be careful not to admit what I 
find so difficult to expel. 



20 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



XV. 



In that day 
there shall 
be a fountain 
opened to 
the house of 
David, and 
to the inhab- 
itants of Je- 
rusalem for 
sin and for 
uncleanness. 



The poets fable that this was one of the labors 
imposed on Hercules : to make clean the Augean 
stable, or stall, rather. For therein, they said, were 
kept three thousand kine, and it had not been 
cleansed for thirty years together. But Hercules, 
by letting the river Alpheus into it, did with ease 
what was before conceived impossible. This stall 
is the pure emblem of my impure soul, which hath 
been defiled with millions of sins for more than 
thirty years together. O that I might, by a lively 
faith and unfeigned repentance, let the stream of 
that fountain into my soul, which is opened for 
Judah and Jerusalem. It is impossible by all my 
pains to purge out my uncleanness; which is 
quickly done by the rivulet of the blood of my 
Saviour. 



XVI. 



Let us lift up 
our heart 
with our 
hands unto 
God in the 
heavens. 



Lord, this day I disputed with myself whether or 
no I had said my prayers this morning, and I could 
not call to mind any remarkable passage whence I 
could certainly conclude that I had offered my 
prayers unto thee. Frozen affections, which left 
no spark of remembrance behind them ! Yet at 
last I hardly recovered one token whence I was 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 21 

assured that I had said my prayers. It seems I 
had said them, and only said them, rather by heart 
than with my heart. Can I hope that thou wouldst 
remember my prayers, when I had almost forgotten 
that I had prayed ? Or, rather, have I not cause to 
fear that thou rememberest my prayers too well, 
to punish the coldness and badness of them ? Alas ! 
are not devotions, thus done, in effect left undone ? 
Well Jacob advised his sons, at their second going 
into Egypt, Take double money in your hand; 
peradventure it was an oversight. So, Lord, I 
come with my second morning sacrifice ; be pleased 
to accept it, which I desire and endeavor to pre- 
sent with a little better devotion than I did the 
former. 

XVII. 

Lord, how come wicked thoughts to perplex me Keep thy 

. T . . , , heart with all 

in my prayers, when I desire and endeavor only to diligence; 

ii -v xt t • i for out of it 

attend thy servicer Now I perceive the cause are the issues 
thereof ; at other times I have willingly entertained 
them, and now they entertain themselves against 
my will. I acknowledge thy justice, that what for- 
merly I have invited, now I cannot expel. Give 
me hereafter always to bolt out such ill guests. 
The best way to be rid of such bad thoughts 
in my prayers is not to receive them out of my 
prayers. 



22 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



XVIII. 



Search me, 
O God, and 
know my 
heart : try 
me, and 
know my 
thoughts : 
and see if 
there be any 
wicked way 
in me, and 
lead me in 
the way ever- 
lasting. 



Finding a bad thought in my heart, I disputed 
in myself the cause thereof, whether it proceeded 
from the devil or my own corruption, examin- 
ing it by those signs divines in this case recom- 
mended. 

i. Whether it came in incoherently, or by 
dependence on some object presented to my 
senses. 

2. Whether the thought was at full age at the 
first instant, or, infant-like, grew greater by de- 
grees. 

3. Whether out or in the road of my natural 
inclinations. 

But hath not this inquiry more of curiosity than 
religion ? Hereafter, derive not the pedigree, but 
make the mittimus of such malefactors. Suppose 
a confederacy betwixt thieves without and false ser- 
vants within, to assault and wound the master of 
a family ; thus wounded, would he discuss from 
which of them his hurts proceeded ? No, surely ; 
but speedily send for a surgeon before he bleed 
to death. I will no more put it to the question, 
whence my bad thoughts come, but whither I shall 
send them, lest this curious controversy betray me 
into a consent unto them. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 2$ 



XIX. 

Lord, let thy Holy Spirit be pleased, not only to Behold, i 
stand before the door and knock, but also to come in. door and 

knock: if 

If I do not open the door, it were too unreasonable j^ 1 ^ 11 
to request such a miracle to come in when the doors openthe d 

door, I will 
come in to 

me humbly beg of thee that thou wouldst make the sup with Mm, 

and he with 

iron gate or my heart open or its own accord. Then me. 



were shut, as thou didst to the apostles. Yet let 



let thy Spirit be pleased to sup in my heart ; I have 
given him an invitation, and I hope I shall give him 
room. But, O thou that sendest the guest, send the 
meat also ; and if I be so unmannerly as not to 
make the Holy Spirit welcome, O let thy effectual 
grace make me to make him welcome. 

XX. 

Lord, this morning I read a chapter in the Bible, Open thou 

mine eyes 

and therein observed a memorable passage, whereof that I m *y 

° behold won- 

I never took notice before. Why now, and not drous things 

•' 7 out of thy 

sooner, did I see it? Formerly my eyes were as law - 
open, and the letters as legible. Is there not a thin 
veil laid over thy word, which is more rarefied by 
reading, and at last wholly worn away ? . . . I see 
the oil of thy word will never leave increasing 
whilst any bring an empty barrel. The Old Testa- 
ment will still be a New Testament to him who 
comes with a fresh desire of information. 



24 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



XXI. 



The son 
shall not 
bear the 
iniquity of 
the father, 
neither shall 
the father 
bear the 
iniquity of 
the son ; the 
righteous- 
ness of the 
righteous 
shall be 
upon him, 
and the 
wickedness 
of the wicked 
shall be 
upon him. 



Lord, I find the genealogy of my Saviour 
strangely checkered with four remarkable changes 
in four immediate generations. 

i. Roboam begat Abia; that is, a bad father 
begat a bad son. 

2. Abia begat Asa; that is, a bad father, a good 
son. 

3. Asa begat Josaphat; that is, a good father, a 
good son. 

4. Josaphat begat Joram ; that is, a good father, 
a bad son. 

I see, Lord, from hence, that my father's piety 
cannot be entailed ; that is bad news for me. But 
I see also that actual impiety is not always heredi- 
tary ; that is good news for my son. 



XXII. 



Now no 
chastening 
for the pres- 
ent seemeth 
to be joyous, 
but grievous; 
nevertheless 
afterward it 
yieldeth the 
peaceable 
fruit of right- 
eousness 
unto them 
which are 
exercised 
thereby. 



Lord, what faults I correct in my son, I commit 
myself : I beat him for dabbling in the dirt, whilst 
my own soul doth wallow in sin ; I beat him for 
crying to cut his own meat, yet am not, myself, con- 
tented with that state thy providence hath carved 
unto me ; I beat him for crying when he is to go 
to sleep, and yet I fear I myself shall cry when 
thou callest me to sleep with my fathers. Alas ! I 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 2$ 

am more childish than my child, and what I inflict 
on him, I justly deserve to receive from thee, only 
here is the difference : I pray and desire that my 
correction on my child may do him good ; it is in 
thy power, Lord, to effect that thy correction on me 
shall do me good. 

XXIII. 

I saw two children fighting together on the street. My son, 

despise not 

The father of one, passing by, fetched his son away the chasten- 
and corrected him : the other lad was left without Lo . r £ • . 

7 neither be 

any check, though both were equally faulty in the ^ e r ^tion- s 

fray. I was half offended that, being guilty alike, SlS* 

they were not punished alike ; but the parent would correcteth; 

only meddle with him over whom he had an un- father the 

son in whom 

doubted dominion, to whom he bare an unfeigned he delight- 
affection. 

The wicked sin, the godly smart most in this 
world. God singleth out his own sons, and beateth 
them by themselves ; whom he loveth he chasteneth, 
whilst the ungodly, preserved from affliction, are 
reserved for destruction, it being needless that 
their hair should be shaved with a hired razor, 
whose heads are intended for the axe of divine 

justice. 

XXIV. 

Lord, many temporal matters which I have 
desired thou hast denied me ; it vexed me for the 



26 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



We know 
that all 
things work 
together for 
good to them 
that love 
God, to them 
who are the 
called ac- 
cording to 
his purpose. 



present that I wanted my will; since, considering 
in cold blood, I plainly perceive, had that which I 
desired been done, I had been undone ! Yea, what 
thou gavest me, instead of those things which I 
wished, though less toothsome to me, were more 
wholesome for me. Forgive, I pray, my former 
anger, and now accept my humble thanks. Lord, 
grant me one suit, which is this : deny me all suits 
which are bad for me ; when I petition for what is 
unfitting, O let the King of heaven make use of his 
negative voice. Rather let me fast than have quails 
given with intent that I should be choked in eating 
them. 

XXV. 



Blessed be 
the Lord, 
who daily 
loadeth us 
with bene- 
fits. 



Evening, 
and morning, 
and at noon, 
will I pray, 
and cry 
aloud ; and 
he shall hear 
my voice. 



Amongst other arguments enforcing the necessity 
of daily prayer, this not the least, that Christ 
enjoins us to petition for daily bread. New bread 
we know is best ; and in a spiritual sense our bread, 
though in itself as stale and mouldy as that of the 
Gibeonites, is every day new, because a new and 
hot blessing, as I might say, is daily begged, and 
bestowed of God upon it. Manna must be daily 
gathered, and not provisionally hoarded up. God 
expects that men every day address themselves 
unto him, by petitioning him for sustenance. 

How contrary is this to the common practice of 
many ! As camels in sandy countries are said to 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 27 

drink but once in seven days, and then in p?-cesens, 
prceteritum, et futurum, for time past, present, and 
to come, so many fumble this, last, and next week's 
devotion all in a prayer. Yea, some defer all their 
praying till the last day. 

XXVI. 

Perchance my prayer may extend to a quarter of What, could 

J x J J ^ ye not watch 

an hour, when poured out at large. But some days J^J 1160116 
I begrudge this time as too much, and omit the pref- S^iSt'ye 
ace of my prayer, with some passages conceived fntlTtempta- 
less material, and run two or three petitions into 
one, so contracting them to half a quarter of an 
hour. 

Not long after, this also seems too long ; I de- 
contract and abridge the abridgment of my prayers, 
yea (be it confessed to my shame and sorrow, that 
hereafter I may amend it), too often I shrink my 
prayers to a minute, to a moment, to a Lord have 
mercy upon me ! 

XXVII. 

Ejaculations are short prayers darted up to God 
on emergent occasions. Their principal use is 
against the fiery darts of the devil. Our adversary 
injects (Jiow he doth it God knows, that he doth it 
we know) bad motions into our hearts, and that we 



28 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

Above ail, may be as nimble with our antidotes as he with his 

taking the 

shield of poisons, such short prayers are proper and neces- 
b^abie t sha11 sarv# * n Darre cl havens, so choked up with the en- 
?h e e fiery a11 vi° us sands that great ships, drawing many feet of 
wicked! the water, cannot come near, lighter and lesser pinnaces 
may freely and safely arrive. When we are time- 
bound, place-bound, or person-bound, so that we 
cannot compose ourselves to make a large solemn 
prayer, this is the right instant for ejaculations, 
whether orally uttered, or only poured forth inwardly 
in the heart. 

XXVIII. 

Pray without Ejaculatory prayers give liberty of callings, so 
afwa s U t? ht tnat at tne same instant one may follow his proper 
Fo ra fcdnt. dnot vocation. The husbandman may dart forth an ejac- 
ulation, and not make a balk the more. The sea- 
man nevertheless steer his ship right in the darkest 
night. Yea, the soldier at the same time may shoot 
out his prayer to God and aim his pistol at the 
enemy, the one better hitting the mark for the other. 
Ejaculations bind not men to any bodily observ- 
ances, only busy the spiritual half, which maketh 
them consistent with the prosecution of any other 
employment. 

XXIX. 

Coming hastily into a chamber, I had almost 
thrown down a crystal hour-glass. Fear lest I had, 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 29 

made me grieve as if I had broken it. But alas ! See then 

that ye walk 

how much precious time have I cast away without ch-cum- 

x ■* spectlv, not 

any regret! The hour-glass was but crystal, while *s Sise*' J? 
each hour is a pearl; that but like to be broken, J^™ff_ the 
this lost outright ; that but casually, this done wil- daycare 6 
fully. A better hour-glass might be bought; but 
time, lost once, is lost forever. Thus we grieve more 
for toys than for treasure. Lord, give me an hour- 
glass, not to be by me, but to be in me. Teach me 
to number my days. An hour-glass to turn me, that 
I may apply my heart unto wisdom. 

XXX. 

We read that the nails in the holy of holies in quietness 

and in confi- 

(2 Chronicles 3 : 8 and 9) were of fine gold. Hence dence shall 

x ° <' be your 

ariseth a question how such nails could be useful, str ength. 
pure gold being so flexible that a nail made thereof 
will bow, and not drive. 

Now, I was present at the debate thereof, betwixt 
the best working goldsmiths in London, where, 
among many ingenious answers, this carried away 
the credit for the greatest probability thereof ; viz., 
that they were screw-nails, which had holes pre- 
pared for their reception, and so were wound in by 
degrees. 

God's work must not be done lazily, but leisurely : 
haste maketh waste in this kind. In reformations 



30 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



of great importance, the violent driving in of the 
nail will either break the head, or bow the point 
thereof, or rive and split that which should be fas- 
tened therewith. That may insensibly be screwed, 
which cannot suddenly be knocked into people. 
Fair and softly goeth far ; but alas ! we have too 
many fiery spirits, who, with Jehu, drive on so furi- 
ously they will overturn all in church and state, if 
their fierceness be not seasonably retrenched. 

XXXI. 



Therefore, 
behold, I 
will hedge 
up thy way 
with thorns. 



When I go speedily in any action, Lord, give me 
to call my soul to an account. It is a shrewd sus- 
picion that my bowl runs down-hill, because it runs 
so fast. And, Lord, if I go in an unlawful way, 
start some rubs to stop me, let my foot slip or stum- 
ble. And give me the grace to understand the lan- 
guage of the lets * thou throwest in my way. Thou 
hast promised, I will hedge up thy way. Lord, be 
pleased to make the hedge high enough and thick 
enough, that if I be so mad as to adventure to climb 
over it, I may not only soundly rake my clothes, 
but rend my flesh ; yea, let me rather be caught, 
and stick in the hedge, than, breaking in through it, 
fall on the other side into the deep ditch of eternal 
damnation. 

1 Hindrances. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 3 I 



XXXII. 

Lord, this day casually I am fallen into a bad Blessed is 

* J J the man that 

company, and know not how I came hither, or how JjSjJJj]^. 
to get hence. Sure I am, not my improvidence [s^dL* 16 
hath run me, but thy providence hath led me, into the crown of 
this danger. I was not wandering in any base by- the' Lord 

, , „..,,., e . hath prom- 

path, but walking in the highway of my vocation ; ised to them 

that love 

wherefore, Lord, thou that callest me hither, keep him. 
me here. Stop their mouths, that they speak no 
blasphemy, or stop my ears, that I hear none; or 
open my mouth soberly to reprove what I hear. 
Give me to guard myself; but, Lord, guard my 
guarding of myself. Let not the smoke of their 
badness put out mine eyes, but the shining of my 
innocency lighten theirs. Let me give physic to 
them, and not take infection from them. Yea, make 
me the better for their badness. 

XXXIII. 

Lord, I trust thou hast pardoned the bad exam- As far as the 
pies I have set before others; be pleased also to the west, so 

far hath he 

pardon me the sins which they have committed by removed our 

transgres- 

my bad examples. (It is best manners in thy court sions from 
to heap requests upon requests.) If thou hast for- 
given my sins, the children of my corrupt nature, 
forgive me my grandchildren also. Let not the tran- 
scripts remain since thou hast blotted out the original. 



32 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



XXXIV. 



I am not 
ashamed of 
the gospel 
of Christ : 
for it is the 
power of 
God unto 
salvation to 
every one 
that believ- 
eth. 



A person of great quality was pleased to lodge a 
night in my house. I durst not invite him to my 
family prayer ; and therefore, for that time, omitted 
it ; thereby making a breach in a good custom, and 
giving Satan advantage to assault it. Yea, the 
loosening of such a link might have endangered the 
scattering of the chain. 

Bold bashfulness, which durst offend God whilst 
it did fear man. Especially considering, that, 
though my guest was never so high, yet by the laws 
of hospitality I was above him whilst he was under 
my roof. 

Hereafter, whosoever cometh within the doors 
shall be requested to come within the discipline 
of my house ; if accepting my homely diet, he will 
not refuse my home devotion ; and sitting by my 
table, will be entreated to kneel down by it. 



XXXV. 



Death in Scripture is compared to sleep. Well 



Yet the Lord 
will com- 

Ev?ng h kind- t ^ ien ma y m y n ig nt prayer be resembled to making 
da^ime^nd m y will I will be careful not to die intestate ; as 
his^ong 8 * also not to defer my will-making till I am not com- 
me, and my pos mentis, till the lethargy of drowsiness seize upon 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 33 

me. . . . Night was made for man to rest in. But prayer unto 

° the God of 

when I cannot sleep, may I entertain my waking m y life - 
with good thoughts. Not to use them as opium, to 
invite my corrupt nature to slumber, but to bolt out 
bad thoughts, which otherwise would possess my 
soul. 

XXXVI. 

Lord, be pleased to shake my clay cottage before Take ye 

, imi heed, watch 

thou thro west it down. May it totter awhile be- and pray ; for 

ye know not 

fore it doth tumble. Let me be summoned before when the 

time is. 

I am surprised. Deliver me from sudden death. ^ready 6 " 
Not from sudden death in respect of itself, for I also# 
care not how short my passage be, so it be safe. 
Never any weary traveller complained that he came 
too soon to his journey's end. But let it not be 
sudden in respect of me. Make me always ready 
to receive death. Thus no guest comes unawares 
to him who keeps a constant table. 

XXXVII. 

Lord, how near was I to danger, yet escaped ! Thou, Lord, 

& ' J r onlymakest 

I was upon the brink of the brink of it, yet fell not ™ e to t dwell 

r 7 J m safety. 

in ; they are well kept who are kept by thee. Excel- K^nT 
lent archer ! Thou didst hit thy mark in missing it, 
as meaning to fright, not hurt me. Let me not now 
be such a fool as to pay my thanks to blind Fortune 



34 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



for a favor which the eye of Providence hath be- 
stowed upon me. Rather let the narrowness of my 
escape make my thankfulness to thy goodness the 
larger, lest my ingratitude justly cause that, whereas 
this arrow but hit my hat, the next pierce my head. 

XXXVIII. 



When thou 
vowest a vow 
unto God, 
defer not to 
pay it ; for 
he hath no 

f>leasure in 
ools ; pay 
that which 
thou hast 
vowed. 



Lord, I read how Jacob (then only accompanied 
with his staff) vowed at Bethel that, if thou gavest 
him but bread and raiment, he would make that 
place thy house. After his return, the condition on 
thy side was over-performed, but the obligation on 
his part wholly neglected : for when thou hadst made 
his staff to swell, and to break into two bands, he, 
after his return, turned purchaser, bought a field in 
Shalem, intending there to set up his rest. But 
thou wert pleased to be his remembrancer in a new 
vision, and to spur him afresh, who tired in his 
promise. Arise, go to Bethel, and make there an 
altar, etc. Lord, if rich Jacob forgot what poor Jacob 
did promise, no wonder if I be bountiful to offer 
thee in my affliction what I am niggardly to per- 
form in my prosperity. But O, take not advantage 
of the forfeitures, but be pleased to demand payment 
once again. Pinch me into the remembrance of 
my promise, that so I may re-enforce my old vows 
with new resolutions. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 35 



XXXIX. 

The Amalekite who brought tidings to David Lying h P s 

are abomina- 



(2 Samuel 1) began with truth, rightly reporting the fan to the 
overthrow of the Israelites ; cheaters must get some wherefore 

' o putting away 

credit before they can cozen, and all falsehood, if every m P an ak 
not founded in some truth, would not be fixed in ^neighbor, 
any belief. 

But, proceeding, he told six lies successively : 

1. That Saul called him. 

2. That he came at his call. 

3. That Saul demanded who he was. 

4. That he returned his answer. 

5. That Saul commanded to kill him. 

6. That he killed him accordingly. 

A wilful falsehood told is a cripple not able to 
stand by itself, without some to support it; it is 
easy to tell a lie, hard to tell but one lie. Lord, if 
I be so unhappy as to relate a falsehood, give me to 
recall it, or repent of it. 



XL. 

Lord, wise Agur made it his wish, Give me not seeing they 

crucify the 

poverty lest I steal, and take the name of my God Son of God 

afresh, and 

in vain. He saith not, Lest I steal and be caught put him to 

an open 

in the manner, and then be stocked, or whipped, or shame- 
branded, or forced to fourfold restitution, or put 



36 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

to any other shameful or painful punishment. But 
he saith, Lest I steal, and take the name of my 
God in vain ; that is, Lest, professing to serve 
thee, I confute a good profession with a bad con- 
versation. Thus thy children count sin to be the 
greatest smart in sin, as being more sensible of 
the wound they therein give to the glory of God 
than of all the stripes man may lay upon them for 
punishment. 

XLI. 

Provide I care not how small my means be, so they be 

thing&honest T .-. . . 

in the sight my means; I mean my own without any injury 

of all men. 

Thou shait to others. What is truly gotten may be comfort- 
not defraud m . 
J hynei ?&" ably kept. What is otherwise may be possessed, 

£eE : his but not en j°y ed - 

shtVnof ed u P on the question, What is the worst bread 
theeaiTnight which is eaten ? one answered, in respect of the 
moming. coarseness thereof, Bread made of beans. An- 
other said, Bread made of acorns. But the third 
hit the truth, who said, Bread taken out of other 
men's mouths, who are the true proprietaries 
thereof. Such bread may be sweet in the mouth 
to taste, but is not wholesome in the stomach to 
digest. . . . Lord, grant that though my means be 
never so small, they may be my means, not wrong- 
fully detained from others having a truer title to 
them. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 37 

XLII. 

This seeming paradox will, on examination, prove charge them 

& c r that are rich 

a real truth; viz., that though Job lost his seven in this world 

thousand sheep consumed by fire of God, Job i : 1 6 £j£ d ° hat 

(understand it, by his permission, and Satan's im- flTgood™ 1 * 

mission), yet he still kept the wool of many of them. to°aistnbut^ 

For Job, in the vindication of his integrity (not communi- 
cate ; laying 
to praise, but to purge, himself ), doth relate how the up in store 

loins of the poor blessed him, being warmed with selves a good 

1 7 ° foundation 

the fleece of his sheep (Job 31 : 20). So much S n t s tthe 
of his wool ( in the cloth made thereof ) he secured come ' 
in a safe hand, lending it to God (in poor people), 
Prov. 19 : 17, as the best of debtors, being most 
able and willing to repay it. 

Such as have been plundered of their estates in 
these wars may content and comfort themselves 
with this consideration, that so long as they en- 
joyed plenty, they freely parted with a proportion 
thereof to the relief of the poor; what they gave, 
that they have ; it still remaineth theirs, and is 
safely laid up for them in a place where rust and 
moth do not corrupt, nor thieves break through 

and steal. 

XLIII. 

Well fare their hearts who will not only wear 
out their shoes, but also their feet, in God's ser- 
vice, and yet gain not a shoe-latchet thereby. 



38 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

SS Sd' When our Saviour drove the sheep and oxen out 

no?hm g for °* tne temple, he did not drive them into his own 

ySVeward pasture, nor swept the coin into his own pockets 

great, and ye when he overturned the tables of the money- 

shall be the 

children of changers. But we have in our days many who are 

the Highest. b J J 

forward to offer to God such zeal which not only 
cost them nothing, but wherewith they have gained 
great estates. 



XLIV. 

it is the Lord, I read at the transfiguration that Peter, 

se^°h w h?m J ames > and J onn were admitted to behold Christ, 
good ' but Andrew was excluded. So again, at the reviv- 

ing of the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, 
these three were let in, and Andrew was shut out. 
Lastly, in the agony, the aforesaid three were called 
to be witnesses thereof, and still Andrew left be- 
hind. Yet he was Peter's brother, and a good man, 
and an apostle. Why did not Christ take the two 
pair of brothers ? Was it not a pity to part them ? 
But methinks I seem more offended thereat than 
Andrew himself was, whom I find to express no 
discontent, being pleased to be accounted a loyal 
subject for the general, though he was no favorite 
in these particulars. Give me to be pleased in my- 
self, and thankful to thee for what I am, though 
I be not equal to others in personal perfections. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 39 

For such peculiar privileges are courtesies from thee 
when given, and no injuries to us when denied. 

XLV. 

I have a great friend whom I endeavor and de- 
sire to please, but hitherto all in vain : the more I ing men^but 

i . . God, which 

seek, the farther off I am from finding his favor, triathour 

hearts. 

Whence comes this? Are not my applications to 
man more frequent than my addresses to my Maker ? 
Do I not love his smiles more than I fear Heaven's 
frowns ? I confess, to my shame, that sometimes his 
anger hath grieved me more than my sins. Here- 
after by thy assistance, I will labor to approve my 
ways in God's presence ; so shall I either have, or 
not need, his friendship, and either please him with 
more ease, or displease him with less danger. 

XLVI. 

The mystery of annealing glass ; that is, baking it 
so that the color may go clean through it, is now Let us not 

h . . . ., l° ve i* 1 word, 

by some casualty quite lost in England, if not in neither in 

J J n . tongue ; but 

Europe. Break a piece of glass painted some four jj dee i and 

hundred years since, and it will be found as red in ^et^notlis 1 

the middle as in the outsides ; the color is not only S?ma e n th; 

on it, but in it, and through it. Whereas, now all the outward 

e i r- 1 i • i /• appearance, 

art can perform is only to fix the red on one side of but the Lord 

looketh on 
the glass. the heart. 

I suspect a much more important mystery is much 



40 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 



lost in our age ; viz., the transmitting of piety clean 
through the heart, that a man become inside and 
outside alike. O the sincerity of the ancient patri- 
archs, inspired prophets, holy apostles, patient mar- 
tyrs, and pious fathers of the primitive church, 
whereas only outside sanctity is too usual in our age. 
Happy the man on whose monument that character 
of Asa (i Kings 15 : 14) may be truly inscribed for 
his epitaph : Here lieth the man whose heart was 
perfect with the Lord all his days. Heart perfect, 
O finest of wares ! All his days, O the largest of 
measures ! 

XLVII. 



Whosoever 
drinketh of 
the water 
that I shall 
give him 
shall never 
thirst; but 
the water 
that I shall 
give him 
shall be in 
him a well of 
water, 

springing up 
into everlast- 
ing life. 



The Venetians showed the treasure of their state, 
being in many great coffers full of gold and silver, 
to the Spanish ambassador. But the ambassador, 
peeking under the bottom of those coffers, demanded 
whether that their treasure did daily grow, and had a 
root ; for such, saith he, my master's treasure hath, 
meaning both his Indies. Many men have attained 
to a great height of piety, to be very abundant and 
rich therein. But all theirs is but a cistern, not a 
fountain of grace ; only God's goodness hath a spring 
of itself in itself. 

XLVIII. 



Lord, the apostle saith to the Corinthians, God 
will not suffer you to be tempted above what you 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 4 1 

are able. But how comes he to contradict himself, My grace is 

sufficient for 

by his own confession, in his next epistle? where, thee; for my 

J r ' strength is 

speaking of his own sickness, he saith, We were J^£ 
pressed out of measure, above strength. Perchance 
this will be expounded by propounding another rid- 
dle of the same apostle's, who, praising Abraham, 
saith that against hope he believed in hope. That 
is, against carnal hope, he believed in spiritual hope. 
So the same wedge will serve to cleave the former 
difficulty. Paul was pressed above his human, but 
not above his heavenly, strength. Grant, Lord, that 
I may not mangle and dismember thy word, but 
study it entirely, comparing one place with another. 
For diamonds can only cut diamonds, and no such 
comments on the Scripture as the Scripture. 

XLIX. 



When Herod had beheaded John the Baptist, The apostles 

• 1 1 i •'""'■ i« •' 1 ill gathered 

some might expect that his disciples would have themselves 

together 

done some great matter in revenge of their master's unt ,° J, esus > 

& & and told him 

death. But see how they behave themselves. And a11 thin s s - 

his disciples came and took up the body and buried Trust in him 

it, and went and told Jesus. And was this all ? and ye plSpie* ; 

what was all this ? Alas, poor men, it was some your heart 

1 c 111 before him ; 

solace to their sorrowful souls that they might God is a 

refuge for us. 

lament their loss to a fast friend, who, though for 
the present unable to help, was willing to pity them. 



42 QUAINT THOUGHTS 

Hast thou thy body unjustly imprisoned, or thy 
goods violently detained, or thy credit causelessly 
defamed? I have a design whereby thou shalt 
revenge thyself, even go and tell Jesus. Make to 
him a plain and true report of the manner and 
measure of thy sufferings ; especially there being a 
great difference betwixt Jesus then clouded in the 
flesh, and Jesus now shining in glory, having now 
as much pity, and more power, to redress thy griev- 
ances. I know it is counted but a cowardly trick 
for boys, when beaten but by their equals, to cry 
that they will tell their father. But, during the 
present necessity, it is both the best wisdom and 
valor, even to complain to thy Father in heaven, 
who will take thy case into his serious considera- 
tion. 



He shall God is said to have brought the Israelites out of 

cover thee 

with his Egypt on eagles' wings. Now eagles, when remov- 
under his j n pr their young ones, have a different posture from 

wings shalt ° J ° r 

£sfaSSf t; otner f° w l> proper to themselves (fit it is that there 
sh?eid b and y should be a distinction between sovereign and sub- 
jects), carrying their prey in their talons, but young 
ones on their backs, so interposing their whole 
bodies betwixt them and harm. The old eagle's 
body is the young eagle's shield, and must be shot 
through before her young ones can be hurt. 



buckler. 



QUAINT THOUGHTS 43 

Thus God, in saving the Jews, put himself 
betwixt them and danger. Surely God, so loving 
under the law, is no less gracious in the gospel ; 
our souls are better secured, not only above his 
wings, but in his body ; your life is hid with Christ 
in God. No fear then of harm ; God first must be 
pierced before we can be prejudiced. 



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